We've all gone blind, we just can't see it yet. As a record number of Americans lose faith in their Congress, our political dialogue slides further down a jagged abyss. No one seems to be able to figure out why debates over policy consistently disintegrate into pandering — it's because we let them. No, I don't mean "we," the American people, it's us, the media. If the past few election cycles have made anything clear, it's that media professionals must rethink their performance as a final check against government abuse. That takes more than investigations and muckraking, however valuable those are. It also takes responsible campaign coverage.

I saw the repercussions of poor political coverage firsthand in my hometown Milwaukee and in my home district, where an alderman who now faces bribery charges maintains fervent support among his constituents. Even before facing a recall election in 2007, Mike McGee Jr. was widely known to operate as a sort of mafia boss. There was the good: offering favors to his constituents, working zealously to end 'cruising' in inner-city streets and making a point of being accessible. And the bad: taking bribes, acting as hired muscle for contracted beatings, calling a former district attorney a "dumb ass" and referring to police officers as "faggots."

The local TV media focused their coverage almost exclusively on questions of race — who was behind the recount, whether the district would turn its back on a prominent civil rights activist and whether anyone believed his claims of discrimination. Issue based coverage of real city council matters in which Mr. McGee was notoriously ineffectual was lost in the noise of the alderman's own publicity machine, which manipulated the media into screaming racism. He won a recall vote in a landslide.

Now, Mr. McGee is in jail waiting to be tried for bribery charges. I can't help but think that if the media had focused on issues in the race rather than the issue of race, he wouldn't still be the representative for Milwaukee's sixth district. Further, his constituents — who are sensitive about institutional racism due to a long history of dealing with its repercussions — wouldn't feel compelled to support a delusional politician. Sadly, the primary conduit of information is local TV, and while citizens certainly deserve blame for being misinformed, the media's abdication of its responsibilities has continually been to the detriment of the populace.

The lack of issue-based coverage in local news has not only hurt the quality of discourse in local politics, but nationally as well. The reason Americans are historically disaffected with the political process as a whole and believe government rarely achieves substantive reforms is that the policymakers who really make a difference in their daily lives are ignored. One only needs to read Badger Herald news articles that include numbers of those in attendance for city policy-related meetings to see that a frighteningly small number of citizens take the time to have a say in local politics before a proposal is actually implemented.

Newspapers offered issue-based coverage to the masses in their heyday, and TV's advent presented a chance to inform citizens on local issues on an even broader scale. But for whatever reason, it didn't work out that way. The only election coverage most local outlets offer is campaign spending, polls and results — along with a one or two word generic descriptor before a name, like "pro-business."

Corporatization may well be a major culprit, but the race to accrue ads and ratings can't be an all-encompassing excuse. I've spent a considerable number of column inches these past few years complaining about horserace election coverage from the media, in which analysis boils down to who is popular this week and who's earned cool points. Despite an ongoing discussion in professional circles, it continues with no end in sight.

MSNBC's "Super Tuesday" biweekly presidential coverage makes this point perfectly. Essentially, the anchors and analysts spend an entire day gossiping about theoretical strategies and game plans in what plays like an extended version of "Access Hollywood." The producers and editors don't seem to feel an overwhelming sense of shame for the disservice they are doing to the political process with their coverage, but then again, they are still a few weeks away from bringing back the ridiculous racing donkey and elephant from 2004. Until then, "Hardball" host Chris Matthews is promising to release his presidential "power rankings" in a commercial replete with cheesy green lightning effects. (Although Mr. Matthews offers unparalleled government coverage, his campaign offerings are often painful, at best.)

For now, Americans are stuck with shoddy local TV news coverage and politicians who are given an incentive to pander to the lowest common denominator that the media will report. While increasing numbers of us will demand and find something better, most won't. However, an opportunity to expose the cycle of bad reporting and worse politics will emerge soon. Then, the informed will have a final chance to wrench our politics back from absurdity. This will be our Alamo.

Bassey Etim ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science and journalism.